“Ben Carson has surged past Donald Trump in Iowa, according to a Quinnipiac University poll of likely Republican caucus participants out Thursday.

The retired neurosurgeon leads the Republican field with 28 percent, while Trump has fallen behind with 20 percent. A September survey had Trump at 27 percent, and Carson at 21 percent…

The strong showing from Carson, who has gotten accolades for his debate performance and campaign style despite tossing out some inflammatory comments about Muslims and mass shootings, comes in part from his support from women, who back Carson 33 percent to Trump’s 13 percent.

Carson also has “almost unheard of” favorability numbers according to Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

“Those who know Carson seem to like him. He has an almost unheard of 84/10 percent favorability rating among likely Republican caucus-goers, compared to Trump’s 53/43 percent rating. To borrow the line from Madison Avenue, ‘Almost no one doesn’t like Ben Carson,’” Brown said.”